


With the Rising of the Sun

by FrogSpawn



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Depression, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst, Loneliness, M/M, Neglect, Victorian, ereri, riren - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24151291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrogSpawn/pseuds/FrogSpawn
Summary: The still air and silence is threatening to suffocate Eren. Left for another time by his parents with the staff of the manor to occupy him is simultaneously overwhelming and under stimulating for him. He needs to get out of the house.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	1. With the Rising of the Sun

The hall was vast, each sound echoing throughout the expanse of cedar and marble, amplifying it so that it travelled up the staircase - even the soft tapping of Eren's shoes on the flagstones created a swell of noise. Fingertips traced the intricate design on the brass candlesticks, caribbean orbs observing the flickering of the flame with a vacant air. Despite the numerous lighting fixtures, the air was frigid, nipping at his exposed saturnine skin, drawing goosebumps to the surface. He didn't hear the near soundless footsteps approaching from behind him, not even as they seemed to boom throughout the chamber.

"Sir Yeager, it is late. The young master is due to return with the rise of the sun. Now would be a suitable time to retire."

He pursed his lips, stepping out of his empty thoughts, before nodding curtly, "Yes, perhaps it is. However I should like to stay up a little while longer."

With a curtsy, the lady behind him gave him one last lingering gaze, her face blank and cerulean orbs glassy, scruffy bun of spiky blonde hair bobbing as she spun on her heels and stalked off into the connecting corridor. 

The room was still, no movement or chatter or welcoming warmth resides within the crisp air. Even though it was a welcome change in environment, this is not what Eren had visited the manor for, more of what he gave a feeble attempt to escape. Coldness, silence, loneliness. All of it festered and multiplying in his soul until he felt that he could not take it anymore and escaped. Much good that had done him. It was as if Levi did as many trips as his father did. Maybe if Carla had not perished at the hands of some drunkard then maybe things would be different. But alas, there was no point in pondering circumstances that will not occur.

With a heart made of lead beating quietly in his chest, Eren ghosted up the stairs and across the landings, hoping to numb himself further with a fitful rest that he would surely not receive.

Morning bought new life to the mansion that wasn't present the evening previous. The din of chatter from the kitchen, clattering and shattering of various types of crockery and boisterous footsteps rushing every which way. While it did not relinquish the space within him, it did liven Eren up, give him the will to raise his weary body from the soft comforts of bed and cloth himself.

Upon arriving downstairs, his dreary eyes spotted the flowing tail coat of a certain tall butler as he hustled behind Mey-Rin, who was carrying a precariously high stack of plates that seemed to teetering towards the left. It left a ghost of a smile on his lips, the promise that he shall see him betrothed sooner than later.

"Sebastian," he called out, voice small yet strong, carrying across the room. Crimson eyes flitted to him as slender hands stopped the unstable maid and gently relieved her of the plates, "May you show me to Levi?"

As always, Sebastian's face was unreadable, however his lips lifted slightly in a corner, one could almost call a polite smirk.

"Why of course, Sir Yeager."

Setting down the dishes on a nearby table, he lead Eren down the hallway, each stride long and purposeful, tail coat fluttering at the motion. All of the corridors were dimly lit by flickering candles, disturbed by nearby activities, however the golden glow of the morning sun filtering through the curtains was more than enough to perceive the surroundings.

At the end of the lengthy corridor adorned with paintings of all shapes and sizes, there was a broad-shouldered cedar door, encrusted with a golden handle and ornate designs by the frame. A gloved hand turned the knob and allowed it to swing open effortlessly, revealing the fine interior of a dining room. A long table complete with a scarlet cloth, chairs lining the sides, and a fireplace beside the head.

In that very position, was a young man. Short, slender and pale, his sharp cheekbones and narrow eye of silver observed Eren as he entered, sleek, black undercut bobbing with the slight movement of his head as he stood up in surprise. His dark eye patch complimented the outfit of navies and blacks, only making his visible eye shine brighter than any star.

"Eren, what are you doing here?"

The low, gravelly notes in the voice soothed Eren's core, providing a blanket of warmth and companionship, shielding him from the icy reality of isolation. Instead of expressing this, he just smiled gently, and stood at the opposite end of the table.

"My father is away on another business trip and the manor seemed awfully empty without someone aside from the maids and butlers. Besides, last summer seems an eternity ago. Is it too much to say that I missed you? That time stretched on long and dull without your presence?" there was an adoring lilt to his voice that Levi seemed to pick up on.

Briefly taking note of his current surroundings, Levi stepped out of his place and pushed his chair in, addressing Sebastian, "We shall take breakfast in the drawing room. Bring it to us there." before finalising his gaze on Eren. It softened, tendrils of understanding creeping into the severe look.

Beckoning Eren over, Levi offered a smile before giving a lingering kiss to his cheek, "As long as he does not mind then you shall stay. For the record, I shall say that I missed your company too, brat. Now come, we have much to discuss - allow us peace and privacy in the drawing room."


	2. In the Pale of the Moonlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angelfromthesky1 requested a second chapter, so I wrote one.

Flickering flames observing from the fireplace allowed the soft warmth to cascade down Eren's partially bare form. Velvet and satin slid silkily off of his body, slick almost in its pooling around his feet. Pale hands gentle as they slid over his exposed shoulders, down to his waist and ribs, as if memorising every slight curve and dip in the body. The gaze became rapt, scrutinising his body. Skin crawling, Eren squirmed in the seat as if escaping the invasive inspection.

"You've been neglecting yourself," came the inevitable comment, all smooth and gently cutting in its intensity and tone, concern hidden away behind locked doors of etiquette and reprimand.

Eren didn't reply to the quip, merely shivering lightly as goosebumps erupted on his skin where a calloused hand deftly stroked his thin mass. Their eyes locked and the icy grey seemed to shelter him from the cool comments. It was freeing in a way, that he doesn't have to contain himself around Levi, to maintain a elegant facade, lacing up his coat skin tight to prevent the broken pieces of him clattering to the floor. An ugly writhing that had reared its head from the pit within him that morning was calming, retreating within himself as he gazed upon the man he adored. It truly had been a bitter autumn without him. Not when wilted leaves drifting to the ground became a reminder of the loneliness that he was locked perpetually in.

Thin fingers brushed through his greasy hair, moving along the shape to where it was secured behind his head, loosening the suede that held it. Long brown locks swept his shoulders, swishing with Levi's ghosting touch that skimmed its surface. The pensive scowl on his face brought a swirl of fluttering comfort, enveloping him even as the affectionate grazing on his nude torso and matted hair became more measuring than adoring.

It was only when those distracting hands moved from him and he was tenderly pressed onto the sofa, a soft shawl placed to conceal his body from view, that he realised Levi had only arrived that morning. Gazing up at Levi as he strode to the bell to call his butler, Eren noted the deep bags underneath his eyes and the slight sagging of his trousers. So when Levi fully faced him, Eren leant forward and, slowly taking the thin wrist of his lover, drew him to the sofa.

The door opened and Sebastian's footsteps echoed subtly as they tapped on the polished floor. "Young master?"

"I require a bath drawn up and a plate sent up to my bedchambers." Levi doesn't even glance over his shoulder, enraptured at Eren's muted expression of care.

"Yes, my lord." With an unspoken bow, Sebastian turns and exits, the door quiet closing behind him. Eren takes this as a que to lean forward gently his lips to Levi's. A chaste kiss that conveys all that needs to be conveyed. Brief in its length however meaningful in its intention. As they part, Eren's voice is quiet, "What business do you attend to today?"

Levi's unhurried eyes surveying his figure is all the answer that he requires.

With mutual concern, each retrieves a plate from the low table before them and begins to consume their now lukewarm meal. In little time they finish their meal before standing and retiring to Levi's chambers.

As the door shut behind the butler, Levi made short work of Eren's clothing. Lightweight travelling robes fell to the ground as Levi eased Eren's body into the steaming water. His eyes were dark, flickering over his lover's diminished form as it was covered with water that was swiftly losing its clarity. Brown and scarlet floated up in the water, vicious and congealed, swirling in the liquid like rings of murky ink. Levi moved to his knees, not caring for the way that his shorts hiked and gathered around his thighs, as he reached forward and began to caress and scrub at the dark skin of his lover.

It was only when soap was worked into the long dry hair that was growing from Eren's head that either of them made any sound. As skilful digits worked his scalp, soft moans filled the tiled room, ricocheting from each surface and amplifying so that when Levi's grip moved to his shoulders they became loud enough to leech through the door and became whispers in the hall, just cause for maids and butlers who passed by as they continued their daily duties to pause and strain to listen in on the intimate moment.

Eren's eyes slid shut as he lavished in the soothing touch, humming ever so softly as his body is roamed with adoration and a vulnerable tenderness that Levi scarcely exposes. Levi's rapt attention is focused on how, with each stroke of his pale hands on the bony form of his lover, dark skin was revealed from beneath layers of sweat, dirt and blood; although he does meticulously note each scar and bruise that speckles Eren's slight frame like raindrops on a window. 

"How did you garner these?" he asks, benign words reverberating in the enclosed tiled space. It almost went unregistered in Eren's ear until the firm grip maneuvered to his cheeks, caressing the supple skin with the side of his thumbs. Cerulean eyes fluttered opened as Levi murmured the same question in the same tone, not pushing but allowing curious worry to trickle through the velvet of his voice.

There was quiet sloshing as Eren shifted in the bathtub to sit up, teeth finding their way into his plush lower lip. "Garner what exactly?"

"These bruises, scars…" he gestured to the dark marks marring his soft skin. Levi held eye contact as Eren inhaled sharply, attempting to move his gaze anyway but him even as those hands held his head indefinitely.

A forced laugh wrang itself from brunette's throat, "I'm clumsy, you're aware of that."

Sigh forced from between tense teeth, he traced the ragged scars that lined his stomach and sides, white striking against the brown of Eren's skin. It didn't take too much knowledge to ascertain the origin of the closed wounds, nor did it require much for the bruises, not when Levi himself had such an extensive knowledge of them. Dealing with each topic individually produces a significantly more effective result.

"Who is laid their hands upon you?" Levi asks bluntly, not particularly caring for the flinch that sends ripples of water sloshing out of the edges of the tub and rain down upon the front of his shorts. Levi observed sharply as Eren shrugged and flicked his fingers through the opaque bath water, splattering more on his clothing.

Sighing, Levi rises, offering a hand to Eren, who glances up. Now is not the time, it is decided as Eren slowly rises and carried from the bathtub and into the bathroom, where a towel had been placed over the silk coverings on the bed. Today was for comfort.

As Eren lies, nude and limp in Levi's toned arms, he looks up to see Levi staring at him. A hand rubbing circles into his back, kisses still tingling the sensitive skin of his neck, Eren takes the time to explore his love's angular face, admiring how the pale moonlight reflects on his porcelain skin. Subtle colour seeped into Levi's face as he gave Eren an uncharacteristically flustered smirk.

And with each drop of sweat that coated their skin as Eren leant forward to connect their lips, the more whole he felt. Sharing their love, simply bathing in the other's presence, it was enough.


End file.
